Aiken nails deadbeat 092598 - The Augusta Chronicle

By Augusta Chronicle Editorial Staff

Deadbeat parents are no better than swindlers. Law-enforcers ought to pursue them with the same determination that they would any other thief. What's being stolen is a child's health and well-being -- money vital for such essentials as food and clothing.

Hence, the Aiken County Sheriff's Office is to be lauded for spending a good part of this decade doggedly tracking Lucius William Corley. Corley, 45, who has recently been living it up in Hilton Head, has provided no help to his three Aiken daughters since 1990. He owes $56,536 in child-support to their mother, says sheriff's Lt. Michael Frank.

Corley for years led police on a chase through several southeastern states before he was finally arrested Tuesday at an Aiken convenience store. Let's hope authorities keep a tight leash on him until he makes good on every cent of child-support.